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ARTIST STATEMENT
I draw tiny pictures of imaginary landscapes of ruins and sci-fi elements, and sometimes figures, in graphite with .3mm mechanical pencils filed down on an emery board.
I usually begin a drawing impulsively, without premeditation. There may be preliminary sketches and failed experiments around, and I’m constantly thinking about themes, but when a real drawing takes off, I’m flying blind. I almost never use reference materials. Neither am I interested in feeding academic dialogues to satisfy the Salon. I just draw pictures of what interests me.
In drawing I struggle to make myself available to my subconscious; to explore its strata for personal narratives, binary fundamentals of form, sociopolitical concerns, fear and desire. As in dreams, the issues and imagery present themselves. I make conscious decisions to execute a drawing, but it originates and thrives in twilight. This isn’t to say I’m a lazy doodler. Working without references is rare and exceedingly difficult and takes time, very much the high road.
I try to find an intersection or balance between the deeply personal and the more broadly historical or political. For example, “Mapreaders” (2006) addresses a period in my life when I was dating several women and at the same time wonders where in the world is safe today from things like economic collapse, pandemic, and fascism.
Why are the drawings so small? I enjoy the physical challenge, and probably also because I’m shy and insecure. My miniatures are like asides at the dinner table. Let other artists build bombastic monuments to cleverness; I’m content, or only just confident enough, to whisper in your ear.
The tiny scale of my work demands intimacy, but at the same time it throws down a substantial distance between viewer and subject. No matter how close you get to one of my drawings, it still seems far away. Maybe that’s because I have always been an outsider, from our family moving around alot when I was a child, to fumbling along the fringes of art world cliques, to feeling alienated by the fascism and denial in American society today. I’m an outsider, seeking refuge, chasing after elusive mirages. I want the viewer to feel this. Very likely he or she already feels like an outsider, too.
EXHIBITION HISTORY / CV
Education
Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia, PA, (BFA Painting, 1995)
Temple University Rome, Italy, 1993-94
Solo Exhibitions
2008
Head for the Hills, Richard Heller, Santa Monica, CA
2006
Tiny Tomorrow, Miller Block, Boston, MA
Clairvoyants & Other Survivors, Jonathan LeVine, New York, NY
2005
New Works, Richard Heller, Santa Monica, CA
2004
New Lows, Spector, Philadelphia, PA
Cognizantium, Miller Block, Boston, MA
Drawings, Richard Heller, Santa Monica, CA
2003
(drawings}, Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia, PA
Group Exhibitions and Art Fairs
2007
Pulse, Miami, FL (Richard Heller)
AQUA, Miami, FL (Miller Block)
Philagrafika 2007 Invitational Print Portfolio, Philadelphia, PA
SPECTOR in the House, Spector Projects, Philadelphia, PA
Naked Paper, Tower Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
The Last Seduction, Carrie Secrist Gallery, Chicago, IL
LA Art in NY, New York, NY (Richard Heller)
Works on Paper, New York, NY (Miller Block)
2006
Draw, Fuse Gallery , New York, NY (traveling to Austin, TX and London, UK)
Works on Paper, Arcadia University , Glenside, PA. Juried by Cornelia Butler, MoMA
SubTerrane, Philadelphia, PA. Curated by Sean Stoops
Wrote For Luck, Kourous Gallery, New York, NY
Pen Pals, Padlock Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Scope, New York, NY (Miller Block)
LA Art in NY, New York, NY (Richard Heller)
The O Show, Ramapo College, Mahwah, NJ
Utopia, John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, WI.
2005
Drawing For It 2, Spector, Philadelphia , PA
AAF Contemporary, New York, NY (Miller Block)
Tiny Huge, Secrist Gallery. Chicago, IL
The O Show, Shore Institute of Contemporary Art, Long Branch, NJ.
Curated by MatCh-Art (Matthew Fisher and Christina Vassallo)
Group Show, Tomio Koyama Gallery, Tokyo, Japan, Curated by Richard Heller
Inside Outside, Miller Block, Boston, MA
Very Early Pictures, Luckman Gallery, California State University,
Los Angeles, CA (traveling to Arcadia University Art Gallery, Glenside, PA)
Seventh Annual Altoids Curiously Strong Collection (traveling exhibition)
The Armory Show, New York, NY (Richard Heller)
Precious Little, Albany International Airport, Albany, NY
Micro Universe, The Lab Gallery, New York, NY
Curated by Helianthe Bourdeaux-Maurin
Can’t See the Forest, sixspace, Los Angeles, CA
2004
Scope, Miami, FL (Miller Block)
Great (re)Masters, Spector, Philadelphia, PA
Import Export, Art Works, Mito, Japan
Sunday Afternoon, Match-Art, New York, NY
Open, Arcadia University Art Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Drawings, Plane Space, New York, NY
The Armory Show, New York, NY (Richard Heller)
2003
Drawing For It, Spector, Philadelphia, PA
Inside Out, Richard Heller, Santa Monica, CA
The Armory Show, New York, NY (Richard Heller)
2002
Red Dot 3, Spector, Philadelphia , PA
Philly: People, Places and Things, Spector, Philadelphia, PA
Selected Collections
21 C Museum, Louisville, KY
Fidelity Investments, Boston, MA
High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA
Victor Gisler, Zurich, Switzerland
Vicki Hughes, London, UK
The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, NY
Peter Norton, Los Angeles, CA and New York, NY
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA
Progressive Insurance, Cleveland, OH
Wellington Management, Boston, MA
David Zwirner, New York, NY
Selected Bibliography
Amir, Yaelle, Randall Sellers at Jonathan LeVine Gallery, Beautiful/Decay, Issue R, March, 2007.
Arauz, Rachael, In Transition: The Civic Ideal in Randall Sellers’ Drawings, October, 2003 (essay).
Auspitz, Debra, Small Wonders, Philadelphia City Paper, September 11, 2003.
Calovski, Yane, ed., D magazine, Jan Van Eyck Academie, NL, June, 2004 (images only).
Coleman, Caryn, Gallery Hopping, art.blogging.la, February 4, 2004.
Fallon, Roberta, Romance Language, Philadelphia Weekly, October 27, 2004.
Farr, Sheila, Altoids: A refreshing mixture of… talked-about… artists, Seattle Times, Jan. 23, 2005.
Heller, Richard, The Little People, Art Review, May, 2003 (image only).
Hill, Joe, New York: The Lab Gallery, Contemporary, Issue 75, 2005.
Hill, Lori, The Really Early Years, Philadelphia City Paper, September 22, 2005.
Knight, Christopher, History Lures, the Future Seduces, Los Angeles Times, January 23, 2004.
Malone, Micah, Randall Sellers @ Miller Block Gallery, Big Red & Shiny, April 30, 2004.
Psyllos, Steven, Randall Sellers Interview, NY Arts Magazine, Vol. 12 No. 1/2., Jan/Feb 2007.
Sullivan, Eric, Hide and Seek, Philadelphia Metro, January 15, 2007.
Worman, Alex, L.A. Confidential, Artnet.com, January 23, 2004.
CONTACT
randallsellers@gmail.com
www.randallsellers.com
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